Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum made the announcement Tuesday in Johannesburg, where the NBA is holding a Basketball without Borders camp. He said all proceeds will go to charity and that becoming the first U.S. professional league to play a game on the continent is “just an evolution of our commitment to continuing to bring basketball to the continent of Africa.” […] “I think that’s a pretty big deal,” Tatum said.

Details of who will play and which charities will benefit are still to be determined. Tatum doesn’t believe any players would decline interest based on the injury suffered by Indiana’s Paul George, who broke his right leg in a USA Basketball exhibition game Friday.

“The involvement of our players in growing the game internationally and on a global basis is critical and it’s important, and I think that our players understand that and I think that the basketball community understands that,” he said in a phone interview.